ryan@fremen.DEC (Mike Ryan DTN 264-8280 MK01-2/H32) (03/26/85)
NCAA Quarter-finals:
RPI beat Lake Superior, 7-3 and 3-3 (!)
BC beat Minnesota, 5-7 and 4-1
Minnesota-Duluth beat Harvard, 4-2 and 4-2
!!!!!!! Providence beat Michigan State, 2-3 and 4-2 !!!!!!!
The East wins three out of four!!!
So, you all thought I was crazy when I said Providence would beat Michigan
State? Yes, you did, I could hear the laughter rippling across the net. If
only I had put money on it (I probably could have got 5-1 odds at least). If
only my predictions went so well when I had money on them...
BC vs. Minnesota:
The BC crowd almost blew this one. When BC jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead
the first night, they littered the ice with tennis balls. The referees made
an announcement warning of the consequences of doing it again (I don't know
how specific they were about the consequences). When BC scored their second
goal (to make it 3-2), they did it again and BC was assessed with a 2-minute
bench minor penalty. They were hit with another penalty a few seconds later,
and Minnesota is not a team known for passing up an oppurtunity like that.
As a matter of fact, the difference the first night was the Minnesota power
play - BC kept getting into penalty trouble and Minnesota kept capitalizing
on it. The second night was another story. BC coach Len Ceglarski shuffled
his lines "to get them mad". Apparently it worked - they came out pumped up,
avoided costly penalties, and Scott Gordon held on to the 9-8 series lead he
was given early in the second period. Minnesota had a couple of power play
oppurtunities late in the game, but could not capitalize. It was BC's first
win over Minnesota ever. I heard the series on the radio, and wished I had
gone - it sounded like fun. For all the hype their football and basketball
teams have gotten, BC's hockey team is the one that will end up with the
highest national ranking.
RPI vs. Lake Superior:
RPI's 7-3 victory the first night gave them the NCAA record for longest
single-season winning streak, 30 games, as Oates broke his own school record
for points in a season. However, Lake Superior did keep it close until RPI
broke it open in the third period. Even this didn't satisfy coach Mike
Addesa, who wanted to get some more insurance late in the game when a Lake
Superior player was penalized and ejected for spearing Adam Oates (the Lake
Superior coach later apologized for the incident) - defensemen Ken Hammond
retaliated and was penalized, blowing the power play. Speaking of power play
goals, RPI hasn't given one up in their last four games. The second night
Lake Superior tried pulling their goalie every time they got a faceoff in
the RPI zone - Addesa countered by putting Oates and John Carter on the ice,
and the LS coach gave up after 3 RPI second-period goals and just aimed to
win the game (nearly did, too). The second-night tie demoted RPI's winning
streak to an unbeaten streak (what's the unbeaten streak record, by the
way?), short of the NCAA record winning streak of 32 over two seasons (set
by Dartmouth back in the 1940's).
Minnesota-Duluth vs. Harvard:
Duluth fans were looking for a blow-out after a critical Harvard Crimson
article was reprinted locally ("pathetic to see a town so consumed over so
little"), but they had to settle for being the only Western representative
in the Final Four. What's interesting is that Harvard made a respectable
showing despite Scott Fusco's only getting one assist in two games (the
first game broke his lengthy scoring streak). Harvard actually led 2-1 early
in the second period of the first game, but soon lost the lead for good
(although scoring at :30 of the second game certainly got their hopes up).
Goalie Grant Blair's comments were interesting: after the first game,
"Overall, I don't think they're as good a hockey team as RPI. I think RPI is
better all-around but it's hard to evaluate until the series is over." After
the series was over: "I don't think there's any way Duluth can get past RPI.
No way. They're no better than RPI, Clarkson, or St. Lawrence. RPI has good
goaltending, four strong lines. RPI has everything." Watch for Harvard next
year - they're only losing three seniors.
Providence vs. Michigan State:
Michigan State set a new NCAA record for wins in a season (38) with their
win over Providence Saturday night. Chris Terreri made 33 saves to Norm
Foster's 18. The second night Tereri out-saved Foster 50-16 to steal his
team another upset victory. Providence jumped to a three-goal lead at 5:30
(the last one was short-handed) and then just counted on Tereri to preserve
the lead. He did. He has made 148 saves against 6 goals in his last 3 games
for a .961 save percentage. Unfortunately, Providence never had a chance to
enjoy their victory. In the third period of the second game, John Sullivan
of Minnesota, father of PC players Tim and Terry Sullivan, had a heart
attack behind the PC bench. He died shortly afterwards. Tim said "I'll never
skate again."
NCAA Tournament in Detroit:
Thursday: semi-final between Providence and BC (live on ESPN)
Friday: semi-final between RPI and Duluth (on tape on ESPN the next
morning)
Saturday: Consolation and championship games (final will be live on ESPN)
So, the bottom line is that Eastern hockey is respectable again following
last year's debacle. I'm concerned, however, about the two Hockey East teams
to one ECAC team in the Final four, with a guarantee of a Hockey East team
in the championship game. The nauseating promotion in the eastern New
England area of Hockey East as the "superior" league is already giving them
a recruiting advantage over the ECAC (RPI has 14 eastern Massachusetts
players, to show the importance of the area), and they'll be sure to use the
Final Four in next year's promotions. The whole ECAC has to be praying for
RPI to beat the crap out of the Hockey East entry in the championship - the
alternative is ECAC weakness becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy over the
next few years as Hockey East harvests the best of the next few crops of
high-school stars in the area. What's good for Hockey East isn't necessarily
good for college hockey as a whole - having a distinctly inferior league in
the fold does nobody any good (least of all the members of that league).
Predictions:
You won't be surprised to find I favor RPI over Duluth. Grant Blair's
comments have reassured me that the BS about WCHA superiority/ECAC
inferiority is just that, and I think RPI will at last play up to their
potential (believe it or not, they haven't lately) and wallop Duluth. How's
8-2 (the average score of an RPI game this season) sound?
Providence and BC should be close. I'll go with BC for the sake of symmetry,
but it's strictly a coin-flip proposition. A lot depends on PC's emotional
state - will they be so down over John Sullivan's death that they aren't
even there, or will they be inspired to win it for the Sullivans?
The final: I'll take the Duluth-RPI winner over the Hockey East team, unless
it's Duluth vs. BC. That one should be very close, and again, I'll take BC
in that case (after the basketball team's near miss, they deserve something
to show for one of the greatest years any school has ever had).
LET'S GO RED!!!!!!!!
Mike Ryan
See you in Detroit (maybe)!